A Fall Gardening Guide: How to Grow Cold Weather Vegetables

Enlarge Image Image Gallery

If you’ve already done the work of digging and prepping garden beds for spring and summer, why not make use of that space for nutritious veggies this fall? With a little effort, you can harvest garden goodies well into winter—even in snow!

What You Can Grow 

Most garden greens and plenty of hardy veggies will thrive in cold weather, and many are actually sweetened by autumn’s dipping temperatures. Some cold-hardy plants, such as kale, mâche and spinach, will still be sending out tender, new leaves when it’s snowing outside. Root crops such as beets and carrots store well throughout the winter, providing four seasons of fresh flavor.

Timing 

In most areas of the country, it’s not too late to plant your fall garden. The key is to start right now. Many fall garden plants get a good start from the last flushes of summer heat. If it’s already getting cool, you can still plant leafy greens. Garlic and shallots like to be planted around the time of your first fall frost.

To determine the appropriate growing season for fall plants, find out when you can expect the first fall frost in your area. If you’re not sure, search “fall frost” at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s website, noaa.gov. Then check seed packets for “days to maturity” and subtract that many days, give or take, from your fall frost date.

Most fall garden plants can be started from seeds, but broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and kale fare better as transplants. Give transplants a solid start by exposing them to direct sunlight for a couple of hours a day for about a week before planting.

As your spring-planted crops die off, replace them with more of the same. Find spots between summer crops to tuck in a row of beets here, a block of radishes there. Consider growing a new crop of peas up your summer trellises. Sow radishes once a month until they stop producing, usually after the first fall frost.

Maintenance 

Feed your fall plants with an organic fertilizer (follow package directions) or dig mature compost into the planting areas a week or so before planting. Several weeks into the growing season, reapply fertilizer or add compost near the plant base.

It’s crucial that fall garden beds stay moist, especially when new seeds are germinating. Always water manually when the soil gets dry, or install a soaker hose at the root zone. A thick mulch of grass clippings or straw also helps retain soil moisture.